While generally applicable to a variety of knit pieces formed for use as part of a garment such as collars, sleeve bands, bottom bands and plackets, the invention will be explained in reference to collars. Those skilled in the art will immediately see the application to knitting and separating other types of garment pieces such as sleeve bands, bottom bands and plackets.
The collar for a knit shirt or knit blouse is typically formed as an individual collar as part of a series of interconnected collars knit on a flat bed machine either from dyed yarns or non-dyed yarns. In the case of yarn-dyed collars, it is known to use a separator thread which melts at a relatively low temperature, e.g., 140.degree. Fahrenheit, to connect the individual collars and separate the collars by use of relatively low temperature steam to melt the so-called "low temperature separator thread". However, the use of the low temperature separator thread technique is not practical for piece-dyed goods since piece-dyed goods have to be dried at a temperature substantially higher than the melting point of the conventional low temperature separator thread.
Piece-dyed collars are typically separated from the strip of collars by manually removing a relatively "high temperature separator thread" which does not melt during drying of the piece-dyed goods. The manually separated thread method is slow, expensive and introduces loose thread which intertangle and distort the fabric during processing. Also, collar fabric having separator threads intended to be manually separated are not compatible with pad batch dyeing because of the loose thread tending to interfere with the dyeing process. Pad batch dyeing on the other hand involves less cost and less abrasion of the fabric. Thus, there is a need for an improved method for knitting piece-dyed collars and for separating such piece-dyed collars and similar garment pieces in a manner which is compatible with conventional drying techniques for piece-dyed goods and also with the pad batch dyeing technique associated with such goods.
There has been a prior attempt to use a separator thread for connecting the collars with a separator thread having a relatively high melting temperature. Such high temperature separator thread technique has been used with low pressure steam and a relatively short infrared heat source but without success. What is more specifically needed therefore and which become objects of the invention is an improved method for knitting collars and similar garment pieces with a separator thread having a relatively high melting temperature and an improved apparatus and method for separating the collars and similar garment pieces connected by the high temperature separator thread so as to be compatible with the requirements of piece-dyed goods and pad batch dyeing and so as to substantially eliminate the need for manual separation.